According to Webster's Dictionary, the definition of guilt is "the feeling of responsibility for wrongdoing". In the play "Macbeth" by William Shakespeare, Lady Macbeth represents that uncontrollable guilt follows one who thinks about doing "evil" deeds. Throughout the play "Macbeth", Lady Macbeth has many evil ideas. Even though she does not partake in these actions, the very thought of these "evil" conceptions makes Lady Macbeth feel very guilty. During this time period, women could only think of doing something "evil" while it was perfectly natural for a man to do whatever bad deed he wanted to. This role of men and women also contributes to Lady Macbeth's guilt because she thought about "acting" on an "evil" idea that she had and going through with this act would have been masculine, not feminine.
             When Macbeth is not announced as the successor to King Duncan, it is Lady Macbeth's idea to kill Duncan and blame the murder on the guards of the King. As she went into Duncan's room to kill him, she was unable to commit with the murder because watching the King sleep reminded her of her father. "I laid their daggers ready...Had it not resembled/ My father as he slept/ I had done't (Shakespeare 27). The very thought of killing Duncan, symbolically her father, made Lady Macbeth feel that she was betraying her father for even thinking about killing Duncan. King Duncan was a prominent masculine figure in Lady Macbeth's life along with her father. Masculine authority went along with any relationship involving a man and a woman, the male always held the upper hand and was in control while the women was to follow orders and be dainty and polite while also being in the shadow of the man. The man could do whatever he wanted while the woman could think of doing an act but of course would never follow through because acti...